


you can't wake up, this is not a dream

by demi_god



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: (because duh imagine a werefox WITHOUT a tail), Alternate Universe - Royalty, Character Death, Gen, Kira is 12, Kitsune tails like in canon is represented by an object, M/M, Nogitsune Stiles Stilinski, Noshiko is Stiles' mother, Stiles Stilinski is a kitsune, Stiles and Kira are siblings, Stiles is 18 at the beginning, This will imply a romantic relationship between Stiles and Theo, and that's when we get the image of canon Kira and Stiles, and when Kira comes of age she will catch up with Stiles, but Kitsunes are basically immortal, but not any of the main three, except for the first tail which is permanently attached to the kitsune, idk what else to tag, the nemeton is here but under the name 'Tree of Plenty' lmao totally made that up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-13
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:54:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28745052
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/demi_god/pseuds/demi_god
Summary: After a moment, Stiles holds on to the arms around his midriff. He leans back on Kira as her voice cuts through the silence that has befallen around them. "It's not your fault, brother," she tells him, tightening her grip even as her tears soak the fabric of his cloak. "People fear the power that they don't understand."
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	you can't wake up, this is not a dream

**Author's Note:**

> [posted on Tumblr](https://voidstilesplease.tumblr.com/post/640252210772574208/you-cant-wake-up-this-is-not-a-dream-au-part)

It is on a night of a snowstorm when Stiles's life turns upside down.

They have just been voted out of Beacon Kingdom after days of utter chaos following Stiles's coming-of-age, revealing his power in a ceremony performed in front of the entire Kingdom. It is supposed to be an evening of festivity, for, after three hundred years, Queen Noshiko finally has a successor - another powerful fox to keep all the Kingdom in its glory. But out of thirteen possible spirits to manifest in him, Stiles has to be the poisoned one. _Great_ , yes, that's a given, but terrible all the same, _the most terrible_.

An uproar instead of fireworks break the solemnity of the ritual. Stiles and his younger sister are immediately escorted to their chambers, the best of their soldiers stationed inside and outside to protect them, in likely chance that the spiraling panic gives way to violence.

Five days of being exiled into their chambers while the Queen tries to quell the havoc, the siblings receive news of a decision unanimously voted by the council. _The Queen has lost the throne, and she, along with her children, is banished from the Kingdom._ They are to live with the Druids in the village on the outskirt of the Kingdom. It can be worse; the Druids are not the friendliest, but they are far from ruthless.

But the lightness of the sentence is not an excuse. Stiles's family has not sinned, yet they suffer punishment for something that is beyond their control. If he must go, Stiles will do so. His mother, who has waited centuries to have children as she devoted herself wholly to her duty and vow to the Kingdom and lost her King before his time, doesn't deserve this. His little sister, twelve-year-old sweet, mischievous Kira, doesn't warrant this injustice. It is him that they want out of the Kingdom, then it must only be him that leaves.

He tells his mother so when she comes to his room, the handmaids preparing his belongings, stripping his room of its eighteen years of memories of him.

But she only smiles, holding the side of his face in her soft palm. Underneath her skin, he can smell the power flowing in her veins, rich like blood. Now that he wields his own, he senses hers - he senses all. He knows exactly how old she is, sees the wisdom in her eyes, in her small smile. She is calm despite the storm. The council has dethroned her from the seat that nobody else has touched before. And yet, she does not look defeated at all.

"They have and will live but for a moment, dear," his mother tells him. "We are forever." 

His mother leans to kiss his forehead, and Stiles is still furious, but that is the end of their discussion. She sends him to collect his sister, who is curled in on herself on her bed, in anguish.

"Why do they wish to get rid of us?" Kira sniffles when she senses her brother's presence. The mattress dips under Stiles's weight when he moves to sit on the edge, looking down on his sister. Kira hugs herself inside her traveling cloak, one similar to Stiles's. The rich color, the expensive fabric, the gemstone embellishments - no one will mistake them for anything other than royalty. 

They may be in gold, but they're still about to be outcasts.

Kira wipes her eyes, sitting up to face her brother. She has never looked so small before. Kira is only twelve, Stiles eighteen, but Kira has always been as brilliant as her brother. She has never stood in the shadow of anyone, not even their mother. It is foreseeable even now in her devastated state that Kira, as was Stiles before his power manifested, is destined for a great future. She emanates strength deep inside, clouded only by confusion and hurt of the sudden turn of events.

Guilt spears him in the heart, overwhelmed once more with bitter thoughts. Kira doesn't have to bear the consequences. She can be the heir instead of Stiles. Kira will make a better Queen than Stiles will ever be as a King, he knows. Under her reign, the Kingdom will flourish for centuries, the Tree of Plenty protected and nourished for the next generations to come.

Kira peers up to Stiles through long and moist lashes. Stiles smiles, albeit taut, as he brushes a stray strand of hair behind one ear. Kira speaks again, voice low, like revealing a secret. "Is it because you're a nogitsune, brother? What they call the cursed fox?"

Stiles recoils his hand back as if electrified by her question. It is only appropriate, he thinks. Stiles has always thought she will be a thunder kitsune, striking them all down where they stand when she comes of age. It is all the more reason that she has to stay. The people only want the odd one out. So cast him out, the bane of their existence, he thinks as his stomach churns in resentment. Anger prickles on the surface of his skin, warm and then burning, and Stiles turns away to hide his face from Kira. He knows his eyes are glowing, but not anymore with fiery orange. They're bright and black as befitting a demon.

She crawls the small distance between them, pressing herself behind Stiles, lacing her arms around him. She lays her head on his clothed back, rubbing her cheeks back and forth to soothe her brother. 

It is working. Stiles can feel his heart evening out, anger fading back underneath.

After a moment, Stiles holds on to the arms around his midriff. He leans back on Kira as her voice cuts through the silence that has befallen around them. "It's not your fault, brother," she tells him, tightening her grip even as her tears soak the fabric of his cloak. "People fear the power that they don't understand."

They stay wrapped in their warm embrace for a while until a knock comes, announcing the presence of a guard. It is time.

•••

It is a civil affair, but one laden with tension. Stiles and Kira are escorted out of the castle first and into an awaiting carriage. It is the same one that his mother rides when she visits around the Kingdom.

Kira has stopped crying, and she takes every step with dignity, chin up and eyes forward, her cloak dragging behind her as she goes. Stiles does the same, trying to ignore the harsh whispers of the few people present for their send-away procession, their mad gazes piercing him to ribbons if they could. Some have spat as he descends the snowy stairs with a crunch, cursing audibly. He is not welcome anymore. Just a week ago, the people honored him as their prince and heir to the throne, _their future King_. Now, they think him no less than a vermin.

Stiles feels wretched for what fear drives people to do. 

When they are inside the warmth and safety of the carriage, Kira exhales a shaky breath, one she seems to be holding for a while. She sags into the seat, blending in with the shadows. Stiles reaches for her hand, lacing their gloved fingers together. Kira doesn't move from her position, but she squeezes their hands to let him know that she is still holding on.

Their mother comes last, escorted by so many unnecessary guards in her sides in front and behind her. Talia is with her, one from the Hale clan and their mother's second. She is a promising young woman, no more than twenty-five years, and a strong werewolf. She will temporarily sit at the throne until the council decides on the Queen's replacement. Whoever gets chosen is now responsible for expanding their lineage and producing heirs. They can't delay for centuries like Stiles's mother had done. They do not live as long as Kitsunes can.

_"They have and will live but for a moment, dear," his mother tells him. "We are forever."_

He peers a little from behind the carriage glass and finds his mother, dressed in much lighter, casual garments, talking to Talia. Stiles hears their muffled voices from where he sits, like listening through water, so he strains his ears, summoning the water away. Suddenly, with a small popping sound, the familiar voices become vivid in his senses.

"-safe, Noshiko," Talia is saying. It takes a long second before she adds, "I regret that this has to happen."

"I do, too," her mother replies.

"I wish you would reconsider," Talia pleads. "The council will still accept you if you only agree to their terms."

"I will not," his mother responds, not missing a beat.

Talia grunts, impatience bleeding in her tone, "You, of all, should know it makes sense. Three hundred years ago, you and the first council convened to defeat the nogitsune hurling unspeakable terror in this land, playing with power that sustains life to many. You built this Kingdom from rubbles with our ancestors and vowed to protect the Tree of Plenty from wicked hands so that we may all prosper," Talia pauses to suck in a breath. "Your son is a nogitsune, Noshiko."

"I am aware, Talia." Her mother continues to sound even. "And I am fulfilling my vow to the Tree of Plenty. Although my son has no ill intentions toward it, I am choosing to go with him, away from where you think he is a threat."

"That will not be enough for them!" she hisses in a whisper.

"The council swore to me that it is when I conceded the throne of Beacon," her mother sighs. "They should honor their word."

Before Talia can reply, the lieutenant guard breaks their conversation, declaring the need to hasten as the storm gets worse, the path darkening.

Stiles's mother speaks one last time, "Do I have _your_ word, Talia?"

Stiles hears the barest of sniffles, and then a final bid of confidence, "You have it."

•••

It is quiet inside the carriage as they make their way toward the Village of Druids, where they will spend their eternity as exiles. Outside, the blizzard worsens.

Suddenly, their mother's voice breaks the somber atmosphere. "Stiles," she calls, loud in the small space. 

Stiles whips his head up to answer the call. His skin prickles at the look in his mother's eyes; they're trembling. It is the first time that Stiles has seen her terrified. "Mother?"

Kira straightens from her seat, too, noticing the alarm.

"In a short distance, this carriage will stop." Their mother says, enunciating every word with clear, hard voice. "When it does, I want you to be ready to grab Kira and run to the forest as fast and as far as possible. Find Marin in the Druids Village. Talia will make sure that no one goes to search for you."

Stiles frowns in confusion, heartbeat steadily rising, "But the Village is, at least, a few more hours away."

His mother shakes her head, eyes softening in sorrow. "They do not intend to deliver us to the Druids at all."

Stiles understands it, then. This all pretense; a show to bring them away from the castle where they can executed. The council has, after all, decided to kill them. Once again, his skin burns from underneath, desperate to set free and rage. He locks his jaw, eyes flashing black. "Then we _fight_ , Mother."

" _I_ will fight," his mother nods, reaching to take his hands in hers. "But you will have to take Kira and run."

Stiles attempts to shake her hands off, but she holds on tight. Stiles snarls, "I will _not_ run. They have betrayed us. Kira will fight, too." He turns to his sister beside him, seeking her support.

Kira is terrified, but from that, she draws her courage. Her eyes glow their orange, intense, ready to fire. She doesn't look like a child any longer when she nods.

"You don't understand," their mother says, transferring one of her hands to touch Kira's knee, too, demanding their attention again, to _listen_. "I am weakened. The council - _Gerard_ \- has taken my eight tails amidst the disorder on Stiles's ceremony, taking advantage of the opportunity to disarm me. He already planned to usurp me even before Stiles presented as a nogitsune. They have sent the most loyal of their men in this journey to make certain none of us comes back, and we cannot fight them all."

"So you want us to run and hide like cowards?" Stiles cries, incredulous. "While you hold them back?"

"I am your mother and Queen," their mother growls, voice rising and tone final, as the carriage skitters. Her eyes glow a scorching blue, a star in blazes, and both her children cower. " _And you will do as I command_."

•••

As his mother predicted, the carriage stops after another few miles. When the doors open, she is already wrapped in blue flames, consuming all the power her one tail can offer, as she pounces at the guards, sending fire after fire, setting almost half of them in flames in an instant.

The mania from the unexpected assault provides the leeway for Stiles to slip out. Blending into the darkness, with a crying Kira in tow, he escapes. Their mother combats the remaining others who have not burnt, while Stiles runs as fast as he can deep into the forest.

They are already at a safe distance but still partially visible. Stiles holds on to Kira as tight as possible, ignoring the twigs that smack him in the face as he races away, determined to accomplish a final command. Even in their range, however, he still hears when his mother falls at last, grunting in pain.

He desperately tries to ignore it, but he can't. His feet stop in their tracks, turning back just in time to see a sword descending onto his mother, slashing with a sickening crunch. Kira screams just as their mother drops with a thud on the snow.

 _Forever_ is until someone severs your head, apparently.

Kira's cry alerts the guards of their location, and Stiles has no time to mourn. But something snaps inside him, breaking and flooding out. He knows his eyes have lost their color again, his gut twisting, and inside his head he sees his hands closing around a faceless neck as his claws dig holes through skin.

A moment later, Stiles hears men choking in their own blood, gasping for air that isn't there.

He continues running then, letting Kira grieve for both of them this time, as Stiles must see through to the end as he promised.

~•~

**Author's Note:**

> Shitty? I do not apologize. You came here, dude.


End file.
